John Adams' other Gospel of Mary @HollandFestival: masterpiece just too long
Mary is arrested at a demonstration and thrown into a cell next to a heroin addict, while her sister Martha has just started a shelter for the homeless. And Lazarus, yes, Jesus brings him back to life here too, with downright breathtaking sounds. And we are not even halfway through.
Crushingly good: Nine Rivers by composer James Dillon, with conductor and percussionist Steven Schick @HollandFestival
From the mild, everyday cacophony around the Muziekgebouw in the afternoon, on the terrace by the IJ, you'll get into the silence of the concert hall in a few steps. For three and a half hours (with over two hours of breaks in between), Asko|Schönberg, Slagwerk Den Haag and Capella Amsterdam will play and sing your ears off. Steven Schick (a.o. once Bang on a Can), not only conducts, but also takes charge of the middle part of the concert, at the Bimhuis, as a percussionist. Under his inspired direction, 'Nine Rivers' navigates between spectacle and purism: a battle between complex form and the simplicity of raw sound matter.
Abou Lagraa: gender separation frustrates Arab man
'That men and women in the Islamic world live apart from each other, that is a big frustration,' says choreographer Abou Lagraa. 'That is what El Djoudour is about.'
Because of his background, Abou Lagraa has a special, enlightening perspective on these issues.
'Shéda', insane chaos with a glimpse of genius @hollandfestival
If after only the first 15 minutes, half of the middle row flees the auditorium, and you look at your watch, thinking, my god we still have over five hours to go, there is something thoroughly wrong with the performance. 'Shéda', by Congolese playwright Dieudonné Niangouna, is an insane tub of chaos of incoherent tirades. Declaimed screaming at a stretch by 12 hyperactive African and European actors, each with a fixed character, returning as gods to apocalyptic worlds, à la Mad Max, beating each other up with bizarre lyrics. Goodness, it is impossible to make sense of it all. Yet it continues to fascinate. Why?
Meistersinger @HollandFestival convinces musically only
Cowardly knight defeats untalented rule fetishist with help from wise cobbler and wins singing contest and the hand of coquettish goldsmith's daughter. Or: boy meets girl on the streets of Nuremberg and decides to enter the local version of Nuremberg's got talent. The judges send him away, but he gets the audience vote. Wagner wouldn't be Wagner, however, if he didn't take about five hours for this story.
BN'ers at Scapino Ballet's captivating lucky draw TWOOLS
Deep in the belly of the Icelandic cello @hollandfestival
It's a tricky genre, which drone, or ambient. Or, what do you call the avant-garde cello experiments of the Icelandic Hildur Guðnadóttir (1982). Very slow, very repetitive, very minimalist. Abstract sound art that leans heavily on loops, resonations and buzzing, über syrupy tones that swell into a large, layered sound collage.
Two voices on Sunken Garden @HollandFestival part 2. Thea Derks: 'Guilt & penance before, after, with and in death'
Amsterdam, 5-6-2013 - It is difficult to go uninhibited to a production that has already caused so much controversy as Sunken Garden by Michel van der Aa. This "first 3D opera" was slammed as "soporific" after its premiere at London's Barbican Theatre last April, but also hailed as "the future of opera".
Two voices on Sunken Garden @HollandFestival, part 1. Henri Drost: "much more than 3D film opera"
Forget all the fuss about the first ever 3D film opera, forget all the fuss in British newspapers. Michel van der Aa himself sighed in interview that, on reflection, he would have loved to have made the second 3D film opera. And perhaps he had
What else are we looking forward to at @hollandfestival?
This month is all about the Holland Festival. Culture Press reports almost daily. What are we most looking forward to?
L.A. Dance project at @hollandfestival: falling in love with dance, if only for an evening
Benjamin Millepied is a glamour boy who conquers everything in his path: from actress Natalie Portman to the Paris Opera ballet. In reality, after the premiere in Amsterdam, the Frenchman looks like a
First children's book ambassador @jacques_vriens on the breach for reading pleasure: 'Frighteningly few Dutch children enjoy reading'
Orchestre El Gusto lets sounds of Kashba Blues blow through @hollandfestival like warm desert wind
They are gentlemen of age and therefore with a history. Grey or bespectacled or bald - or with a combination of all three. Their music has taken them everywhere. And now they are in a packed Carre: the Orchestre El Gusto. To their own delight, as they thank the audience for coming. The musicians from the kasbah of Algiers play the music as it is
Reisopera 2.0 presents itself and blows dust off gala
With a real gala, the Reisopera 2.0 presents itself. And immediately strips the gala of its stuffy image. With thanks to the Nederlands Blazers Ensemble.
Solid fare for royal couple at opening @hollandfestival
Our king is not yet known as a lover of culture of the less bite-sized kind. The kind of performances, like the opera Quartett, with which the Holland Festival opened on 1 June. So it may have been a bit of a letdown for him, his
Jan Lauwers with musical folk theatre at @hollandfestival: 'It's forbidden to memorise lyrics'
An explosion in a crowded market square claimed 24 lives, including seven children. When the village commemorates that tragedy a year later, a little boy falls out of a window and a girl disappears before
Blood, sweat and candle wax in Fabre's Wagner vision at @hollandfestival
Keren Levi at Theatre Kikker with unique documentary and smart performance.
A chamber opera blown up to impressive proportions at @hollandfestival
,,The special thing about Quartett is that an intimate story between two people is blown up to impressive proportions. The characters find themselves in a room, which seems to float. In this seclusion, an isolated game between a man and a woman plays out. Giant video projections
Culture minister Bussemaker promises investment in young artists
Today, the Dutch pavilion of the Venice Biennale was opened by culture minister Jet Bussemaker. And she did so with a speech that the culture sector will appreciate. No longer the harsh and cold tone of Halbe Zijlstra's neo-conservative vacuousness, but a
Peter Blok does a Don Draper
Tjitske Reidinga, our favourite actress, who is in the middle of her golden years, is coming up with a new summer comedy: 'An Ideal Woman'. The blonde who theatre people have known for a long time, but ordinary people only got to know through the TV series Gooise Vrouwen, gets to decide what she does at the New Delamartheatre for three years, and so she is now going for Mad Men....
Dutch dance acrobats stand a chance at final Britain's got talent
The booking agency is sending around enthusiastic emails, and some British newspapers don't seem to like it, But still. Martin and Mariëlle are through to the semi-finals of the ITV show Britain's Got Talent. And that seems to be quite an achievement. Judge for yourself.